Conveyer



1. A. ANDERSON.

CONVEYER.

' APPLICATION ILED MAY 6.1918- 1,342,789. Patented June 8, 1920.

' 2 SHE EEEEEEEEE l- J. A. ANDERSON.

CONVEYER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 6,1918- Patented June 8, 1920 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES JAMES A. ANDERSON, OF MORGAN, UTAH.

CON VEYER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 8, 1920.

Application filed May 6, 1918. Serial No. 232,730.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES A. ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Morgan, in the county of Morgan and State of Utah, have invented a new and useful conveyer, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the class of conveyers whereby materials or commodities of various kinds are carried from one point to another, and while it is what is known as a bucket conveyer and possesses the useful characteristics of such devices, it also possesses certain of the characteristics of an endless belt conveyer. Briefly, it consists of an endless chain carried by suitable sheaves and guides. Suspended from this chain is a succession of buckets. The buckets are pivotally attached to the chain at its joints, the axes of the pivots being located near the upper edges of the buckets. Each bucket has a forwardly and rearwardly projecting flange or lip, and the buckets are so spaced that when they are in equilibrium and moving horizontally the lips of adjacent buckets overlap; that is the forward lip of a given bucket lies above'or below the rear lip of the bucket just ahead of it, etc. These lips form bridges between the buckets which prevent material dropping between them; for this reason the conveyer may be loaded by a constantly flowing stream, just as though it were an endless belt conveyer. Provision is made for dumping the buckets at any required point, and if desired certain buckets may be dumped at a given point, others at another point, still others at a third point, etc. The buckets are provided with projecting studs which at predetermined points engage cams whereby they are partially inverted and their contents spilled out. Certain portions of these cams are provided with undulating or serrated surfaces, over which the studs ride and whereby the buckets are jolted, thus assisting the evacuation.

The buckets are maintained in their normal or horizontal position by gravity, and their lips cooperate, i. 6., overlap, only when they are traveling horizontally. When a bucket reaches the end of a horizontal run and starts around a sheave, it ascends or descends, as the case may be, from the plane of the succeeding bucket, and in order to avoid interference with the forward lip of the succeeding bucket it is necessary for the rear lip of the diverging bucket to lie on the side of the adjacent lip toward which the bucket is to diverge. hen so arranged the buckets are enabled to maintain their equill bllllnl as they pass around the sheaves. Havmg passed around a sheave which caused the buckets to ascend, it is necessary to reverse the lap of the lips before the buckets will be enabled to travel around a sheave which will cause them to descend; then the lap of the lips must be again reversed to enable the buckets to traverse the ascending sheave, etc. It is necessary, therefore, to reverse the lap of the lips at least twice in each cycle of the buckets. My invention comprises means for reversing the lips, or as I prefer to express it, righting the buckets.

In the accompanying drawings, which are merely diagrammatic, Figure 1 represents an entire conveyer, arrang d to receive material on a lower horizontal run and raise it to an upper run, where the contents of the buckets are dumped.

Fig. 2 shows in some detail the dumping and righting mechanism of the upper run.

Fig. 3 shows the righting mechanism of the lower run.

Fig. 4 shows the selective dumping mechanism whereby certain buckets may be dumped at given point, others dumped at a second point, still others at a third point, etc.

Fig. 5 is an end view of a bucket, and portion of the stationary structure, illustrating the selective dumping device.

The buckets 10 are pivotally attached at 11 to an endless chain. Each bucket has a forwardly extending lip 12 and a rearwardly extending lip 13 and when the buckets are on either of the horizontal runs these lips overlap so as to close the space between the buckets. hen material is dumped onto the conveyer these overlapping lips prevent any of it falling between the buckets. Referring to Fig. 1 it will be seen that the buckets are carried around various sheaves. This figure being diagrammatic the chain is not shown. In order to permit the buckets to pass around the sheaves it is necessary to have the lips lapped in such manner that the buckets can move to a different horizontal plane without interference from the following buckets. For example, if the lips of the buckets on the lower horizontal run were lapped as they are at A they would not be able to re tain their equilibrium as they round sheave 1 1, as at A the rear lips of the buckets are underneath the forward lips of the succeeding buckets which would interfere with the buckets rising to a higher level. It is necessary, therefore, to reverse the position of the lips, for which purpose I provide the following mechanism:

Each bucket has a stud 15 projecting from one side, forward of and below the axis 11, and a similar stud, 16, projecting from the opposite side back of and below the axis. Referring now to Fig. 3, which shows the righting device for the lower run, it will be seen that the stud 16 engages a ramp or cam 17, whereby the forward lip of the bucket is rocked upward. While the bucket is thus displaced, as at B, the bucket just ahead of it is rocked oppositely; 2'. 6., its rear lip lifted, by a ramp or cam 18 with which its stud 15 has engaged, the bucket thus dis olaced being indicated at C. I/Vhile bucket remains displaced bucket B passes away from the cam 17 and returns to equilibrium, bucket C then returning to equilibrium after passing cam 18. The result of the operation just described is to remove the rear lip of each bucket from below the forward lip of the succeeding bucket and place it above said forward lip. And in like manner each bucket is rocked successively by cams 17 and 18, olacing the lips in the proper relative position to permit the buckets to pass around the sheave 14. In

this condition the buckets pass the loading point D, which for lack of space on the sheet is much shortened in Fig. 1.

Their lips having been lapped so as to enable the buckets to traverse sheave 1 1 they are able to pass sheaves 19 and 20 without further attention, because in passing around these sheaves they are still ascending. Having rounded sheave 20 the buckets begin to traverse the upper horizontal run where their contents is dumped.

The simplest form of dumping mechanism is illustrated in Fig. 2, which is designed to dump every bucket at the same point. Traversing the upper run in the direction indicated by arrows the stud 16 on a bucket first engages a ramp or cam 25 whereby the bucket is tipped rearwardly, which brings the stud 15 on the opposite side of the bucket down far enough to cause it to engage a cam 26, which partially inverts the bucket so as to spill its contents. The cam 26 forms part of a rail 27, the tread of which is serrated. The stud 15 riding across the serrations jolts the bucket and facilitates its evacuation.

Having dumped the buckets it is necessary to reverse their lips, or right them as I I term it, to enable them to traverse the sheave at the end of the horizontal run.

The necessity for again reversing them arises from the fact that in rounding the next sheave the buckets will pass to a lower plane. The former reversal, it will be remembered, was to enable the buckets to ascend to a higher plane. Having passed the rail 27 the bucket which has just been evacuated would return to a position of equilibrium were it not for a bar 28 which arrests the stud 16 and keeps the bucket tilted a while longer. In order to prevent too great a jar when the stud 15 leaves rail 27 the rail slopes off at 27 so that the stud 16 is close to the bar 28 before stud 15 is released from the dumping rail. While the bucket is held in displacement by the bar 28, the stud 15 on the bucket just ahead of it engages a cam 29, whereby it is rocked forwardly and held thus while the bucket which has just been evacuated passes away from the bar 28 and resumes a position of equilibrium. The result of this operation is to place the forward lip of the bucket above the lip of the preceding bucket. Having been so arranged this bucket in turn is rocked by cam 29 in order to allow the next bucket to resume its position of equilibrium so that its forward lip will be on top.

The selective dumping device is shown in Figs. 4: and 5, and in order to show it more clearly it is seen from the opposite side. The buckets in Fig. 4 therefore move from left to right, instead of from right to left, as

in Fig. 2. In this figure we see the same cam 26, serrated rail 27 and slope 27 as was seen in Fig. 2, but the rail is placed slightly lower down so that when the buckets are level the stud 15 will pass above without touching it. These rails are located at the several points where it is desired to dump buckets. Instead of ,using the studs 16 and the cam 25 for effecting the initial tipping of the buckets, lugs 30 are riveted to the bot toms of the buckets and at points where it is desired to dump buckets stationary trippers 31 are located. These lugs and trippers are arranged in zones, Fig. 5 showing the relative positions of lugs in four zones, which for the purpose of description are lettered a, b, 0 and d. The trippers are secured to stationary angle irons 32 by bolts, and being slotted they may be retired; i. 0., lowered below the plane of travel of the lugs 30, so as not to trip the buckets. The lugs on certain of the buckets are located in zone a, in others they are in zone 6, etc., and it is obvious that no bucket will be tripped by a tripper in any zone but the one in which its lug belongs. Having tripped a bucket and rocked it to a position where its stud is done in the present case. These devices may be quite independent and any desired distance apart. WVhere the selective dumping device is used the righting of the buckets is deferred until they have passed the last dump. Other modifications might be made by a skilled mechanic and it is understood that such as these fall within the purview of my invention. provided they are within the scope of my claims.

What I claim is as follows:

1. A conveyer comprising a succession of buckets pivotally attached to an endless chain or the'like, said buckets having forwardly and rearwardly extending lips so arranged that the forward lip of each bucket lies or is lain upon by the rearwardly extending lip of the preceding bucket when the buckets are in equilibrium and in the same horizontal plane; a stud projecting from one side of each bucket below and rearward of the pivotal axis and a similar stud projecting from the other side of each bucket below but forward of the axis; cams in the paths of the studs over which they ride and whereby the buckets are rocked, the cam on one side being arranged to rock the buckets in one direction, the other cam rocking them in the opposite direction, the cams being so positioned with reference to each other that each bucket is actuated by the second cam while the bucket immediately preceding it is in dislocation by the first cam.

2. A conveyer comprising a succession of buckets pivotally attached to an endless chain or the like, each bucket having a stud projecting from one side below and forward of the pivotal axis; a stationary rail so located that when a bucket is rocked a short distance rearwardly its stud will engage the rail and rock the bucket sufficiently to spill its contents, and means for rocking the bucket initially, so its stud will engage the rail, said rail having an undulating or serrated tread whereby the bucket is jolted by the stud passing over it.

3. A conveyer comprising a succession of buckets pivotally attached to a chain or the like, said buckets being maintained in normal position by gravity, means for spilling the contents of said buckets while they are moving in a horizontal plane, and means for controlling the return of the buckets by gravity to their normal position, comprising a stud projecting from each bucket at a point below and to the rear of the bucket axis, and a bar engaged by said stud after the bucket passes from the control of the spilling means, and upon which the stud rests, said bar having a run down which the studs slide as the bucket moves along, allowing the bucket to gradually assume its normal position of equilibrium.

4:. A conveyer comprising a series of buckets pivotally attached to an endless chain; two stationary cams, a stud carried by each bucket in a position where it will engage one of said cams and tilt the bucket, said cam having a comparatively slight incline on which the stud impinges without objectionable shock; each bucket carrying a second stud adapted to escape the first cam but engage the second, whereby the bucket is tilted sufliciently to spill its contents; and means for controlling the return of the bucket to its normal position.

5. A conveyer comprising a series of buckets attached to an endless chain, said buckets having forwardly and rearwardly extending lips so arranged that the forward lip of one bucket lies or is lain upon by the rearwardly extending lip of the neXt bucket when the buckets are in equilibrium and in the same horizontal plane; two stationary cams, a stud carried by each bucket in a position where it will engage one of said cams and tilt the bucket; each bucket carrying a second stud adapted to engage the second cam, whereby the bucket is tilted sufliciently to spill its contents; means for controlling the return of the bucket to its normal position, and means for tilting its predecessor in the opposite direction while it is still subject to said controlling means, so that when it reaches its normal position its forward lip will be above the rear lip of said preceding bucket.

JAMES A. ANDERSON. 

